


Tron: Allegiance

by EndangeredFandom



Category: Tron - Fandom, Tron: Uprising
Genre: AU, Beck does some terrible driving, Beck’s a tad bit of a drama queen, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Injury, Mentors, Slow Burn, Training, Tron's a dad, slight whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24918469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EndangeredFandom/pseuds/EndangeredFandom
Summary: Beck goes to Tron’s hideout one day to find Paige there...
Relationships: Beck & Tron (Tron), Beck (Tron)/Paige (Tron)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 31





	1. Unexpected Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a posted it under a pseudo on another account. I’ve edited it, added onto it, and now I'm reposting it on my own account. Hope you enjoy! ~~Endangered

The Renegade, Beck, barely refrains from imitating the whooshing sounds produced by his lightcycle. It was tempting, the _whir_ and _whum_ sounds in addition to the _skrr_ s and _whoosh_ es when Beck tried an especially risky move. The only thing stopping Beck from muttering the onomatopoeias was the fact that he was the Renegade, and the Renegade didn’t have time to do things that were childish. 

“ _Whir, errrr, whoosh_!” Beck whispers to himself, leaning his vehicle into a sharp turn, just barely skimming a cluster of boulders. Beck grins, congratulating himself on the flawless execution of the turn, proceeding to maneuver other more devious tricks, simply because he can.

The barren, monochromatic wasteland speeds by in a boring, uneventful manner. Tron had told him that he wouldn’t be needed today, but there was no work to be done at the garage, and time was passing too slow for Beck’s taste. Besides, Tron probably has something for Beck to do, the work never seemed to really run out. 

The lone lightcycle rides farther and farther from the relatively (compared to Tron City) small city of Argon. Beck shakes his head, wondering how no one has managed to see him sneaking off to Tron's base. Beck frowns, already knowing what Tron would say about it. 

“You’re getting too relaxed,” or maybe, “the rebellion is counting on you.” With the additional phrase, “You should know better by now.” Beck rattles off all of the possible words in a shaky imitation of Tron’s husky voice. 

_“Maybe I have gotten too relaxed.”_ Beck frowns, revving his lightcycle faster, the speed helps him think. Another part of Beck’s mind tries to convince him otherwise.

_The occupation is the one getting lazy, it’s no one has caught me yet._

Beck wrestles those excuses away, he might’ve been able to think like that when he was just a mechanic. Now, programs were relying on him, he has responsibilities. Programs look at The Renegade as someone they can rely on, someone that’s untouchable, invincible from the Occupation, and CLU’s power. “ _I need to be that program.”_ Beck reminds himself duly. A frown stays fixed on his face, as much power and justice comes with the Renegade’s role, sometimes he wishes he could go back to being just Beck the Mechanic.

A shudder goes through the program, thoughts like that always tore him down to his core, made him second-guess himself. Beck shakes off the feelings, pushing them into the deep recesses of his coding. He’d revisit them later, but not for a while.

The air whipping against the young program’s face slows to a soft touch, then to an undetectable force as Beck arrives at the very much “dead” hero’s base, a hideout inside of a tall spire of mountain that is fairly close to Argon city. Beck shakes his head, grinning, it’s unbelievable how close, yet so far, the Occupation was to finding Tron. 

Beck walks into the secret entrance of the base, feeling a thrill of excitement. Once the rebellion destroyed the Occupation, Tron wouldn’t have to hide, he’d be welcomed as a war hero. 

The glass-like floor of the building lights up as Beck walks down the entrance hallway. His mentor was around, somewhere. For a while, Beck entertains the idea of trying to sneak up on the older program, just to surprise him. The idea is quickly dropped, once Beck realizes that the chances of taking a disk to the face are concerningly high. 

Beck opens his mouth to call out to Tron when he hears something suspicious. Beck drops into a lower stance, a habit now. He creeps forward, hand inches from his disk. The mechanic strains his ears to decipher the sound. It sounds like...talking. The quick voices are coming from the main room, but it’s too far away for Beck to hear any of their words.

“Assess your surroundings.” Beck mumbles under his breath, reciting Tron’s previous instructions. The program casts a quick glance around the bare hallway. There is no sound of a struggle so far, upon listening even more carefully, Beck picks up that the tone of the voices aren’t hostile. Tron is definitely one of the programs speaking. 

The Renegade groans under his breath, wishing he was a security program so he could run further analysis. Beck takes that thought back instantaneously. If he was one, he would’ve been under CLU’s control a long time ago.

Impatience, as usual, gets to Beck before long. “Glitch it,” Beck growls, sprinting into the main room, hand ready to draw his disk.

Shock temporarily freezes his limbs when he sees who else is in the room. Beck stumbles in shock, confusion overwhelming his senses. Thousands of thoughts race through his mind, all of which contribute to his confusion. Beck cries out to warn Tron and sloppily throws his disk to injure the other program, but not to derez. 

Lieutenant Paige leaps from her chair, avoiding the disk by a voxel’s breadth. Tron whips towards Beck, a thoroughly annoyed expression on his face. Paige looks shocked, stumbling farther backward as Beck’s disk ricochets off a pristine wall, then the weapon speeds back towards Beck, who catches it and holds it ready in his fist. 

Paige moves to draw her own disk, the habit also pounded in her through cycles in the military. She’s only pacified by a warning motion from Tron, who turns to face her, anger blazing in his eyes.

The bright, white lighting from the floor illuminates the stressed stances the three programs stand in. “Beck!” Tron’s harsh voice cuts through the tension with practiced calmness laced with anger. “Bless the Grid, I thought I told you to stay in the garage today.” The older program growls, his hand relaxing, moving it subtly away from his own disk’s dock.

Beck’s gaze is firmly fixed on Paige, so many emotions and thoughts run through him that he focuses on one. Anger. “What is she doing here?” The mechanic yells, gesturing at Paige. “She’ll derez us, or report us or-”

“Beck! Stand down or leave until you can face this calmly.” Tron reprimands him sharply, calculating Beck and Paige’s stances. The tension lasts for a little while longer, though it feels like cycles for the programs. 

Paige stands in stunned silence, looking from Beck to the floor, unable to look at Tron who casts a glance towards her. The warrior program casts a glance towards her, debating something internally before striding to Beck. “Now, let me explain this solely enough for your thick skull to understand.” Tron growls, guiding Beck into the hallway, out of sight from Paige but not too far. 

Beck takes this all in, adrenaline rushing through his code. Beck tries to take in as much information as he can, eventually giving up and focusing on trying to control his emotions. The younger program opens his mouth to say something, but decides against it, waiting for Tron to say something. 

Tron leads Beck a little bit farther before turning to face him. “It seems that I need to go over some guidelines again.” Tron snaps with a glare that could kill the strongest gridbug. “Harming innocent programs makes us no better than CLU. In the future you should take to remembering that.”

Beck freezes, taken aback by Tron’s chastising. “She knows I’m the Renegade now. And she’s part of the Occupation! She’ll find a way to derez you.” Beck bursts out quickly, interrupting Tron.

“I’m the one talking right now, program. If you had taken more time assessing the situation like I tell you to, you would’ve realized that she wasn’t hostile. Also her lightsuit wasn't military orange.” Tron growls with a temper that Beck rarely sees, much less been on the receiving end of. 

Beck frowns, startled that in his shock he had barely noticed Paige’s suit glowing a medic-green instead of the angry orange color of the Occupation. “But-”

Tron doesn’t let him speak, interrupting him with sharp precision, “But, _Renegade,_ ” Tron uses the title like a weapon. Beck winces, crossing his arms and looking at the floor, scowling. Tron notices and softens his voice slightly, “We were just talking, a harmless activity.” 

Tron releases a weary sigh, “You don’t need to worry about me, Beck. I may be wounded, but I can take care of myself.” An underlying tone of frustration still lingers in his voice, but Beck can tell that Tron was calming down. The program settles back in his stance as if inviting Beck to speak.

“She’s tried to capture and kill me several times.” Beck states, keeping an eye on the hallway leading to Paige. “I’m sorry though, I shouldn’t have attacked like that.” The program dips his head slightly, embarrassed. 

Tron nods once, “Follow me,” The older program starts walking farther from Paige.

Beck furrows his brow curiously before jogging after Tron. “You’re going to leave her unsupervised? Isn’t that dangerous?”

Tron doesn’t answer and keeps walking, leading Beck to a training room. Once Tron decides they’re a sufficient distance away, he turns to Beck. “I thought you had faith in her.” The older program remarks. 

“Yeah,” Beck mumbles, “that was before she knew I am the Renegade.” Beck shifts uncomfortably under Tron’s gaze, trying to pay attention to the conversation while simultaneously wrestling with his own thoughts and feelings.

“Still Beck, I’m disappointed in you, that was no way to act in a situation like that. You could have derezzed her.” Tron warns, casting a meaningful glance at the younger program. Tron turns and faces a window facing the bleak expanse of wasteland, “You need to be prepared for situations like that. I hope you’ve learned from this.” 

Beck tries to speak, but can’t find the words, looking out the window himself. 

Tron sighs, continuing his train of thought. “It’s okay to be caught off-guard Beck, though I wish you weren’t, it happens.” 

“You still haven’t told me why she’s here.” Beck asks cautiously and looks in Paige’s direction, unable to stop himself. 

Tron shifts his posture to stand up even straighter, a feat that Beck didn’t think was possible prior. “Tesler was going to derez Paige after Lieutenant Pavel caught her freeing innocent programs that were going to be sent to the games. As it turns out, she’’s been doing this for a while.” Tron explains, brief and to the point. The program continues, glancing up once to see Beck's stunned reaction.

“She escaped capture and ran away using a stolen lightcycle, her leg was injured when she escaped. I found her near the base.” Tron pauses, allowing the first part of the story to sink in. Tron searches Beck’s face, accumulating the details of the younger program’s response to the information.

“I interrogated her,” Tron continues. Beck starkly remembers when Tron first interrogated him, right before he became the Renegade. A slight smile twitches onto Beck’s face for a second.

“Apparently she had seen you driving to the base before and she thought that it could be a lead on the Renegade. Once she realized that it was, she planned to derez you as a way to redeem herself to Tesler.” Tron has a certain tone in his voice that promises a future conversation about not letting others see him. 

Beck starts, casting a worried glance towards the direction of Paige, “Tron that means we could be in danger.”

Tron raises a hand and Beck falls silent. “I've talked to her, she won’t be derezzing anot of us anytime soon, but I will be keeping a close eye on her for a while.”

Beck’s hesitance still shows, being worried about him or Tron getting injured. The rebellion was still fairly fragile, if the Renegade or Tron were defeated, it might decrease their chance dramatically. 

“Don’t worry Beck, I addressed and fixed some hazy spots of her past. I doubt she’ll be trusting Tesler anytime soon.” The older program tries to reassure Beck, turning to face him. “It’s a risk, but one we will have to take.”

Beck frowns, using the momentary silence to try and wrestle through his emotions. Anger and confusement on why Tron would risk so much, also excitement, Paige might be on their side now. That could be the start of something new. If she deserted to their side, how many other programs could? 

Tron speaks again after a moment of silence. “I know this will take some time to get sued to, considering she's tried to kill you, on Tesler orders.” Tron adds when he sees Beck’s worried expression. 

“She’s on our side now, Renegade. Treat her like it, I think that you two could become great friends over time.” Tron places a comforting hand on Beck’’s shoulder, a rare gesture, before walking towards the main room. Beck falls into place behind him, following the older program.


	2. Living with a Legend

Paige stares at the sleek floor, arms crossed in front of her protectively. She hates to act so defeated, but her head feels fuzzy and she’s running on the last vestiges of her energy. Paige crosses her legs, wincing as her wound smarts. 

Tron strides into the room, Beck-the Renegade, Paige automatically corrects in her mind, walking in after him. The Renegade looks less angry and more wary now, leaning against a wall. His acceptance is more than she deserves. She raises her head higher, trying to scrape an ounce of dignity back into her subconscious. She was shocked when she found out that Beck was the Renegade. She guessed it made sense, his strange flinches and tense posture. They had made her curious when they first met, but she had chalked it up to nervousness or perhaps living in a dangerous part of Argon. 

“I’ve talked to Beck, you’ll be safe from Tesler here.” Tron says softly with a tone that isn’t unlike approaching a skittish Bit. Paige nods absentmindedly in acknowledgement, the overwhelming sense of being lost washing over her. She had things all backwards, all wrong. Programs have been hurt because of it, and now she gets shelter. It had been very difficult admitting she was wrong, acknowledging that for a large portion of her life she’d been on the wrong side. But she can only argue, push, and deny the truth so much before realizing her mistake. 

Paige looks down and startles when she sees the brilliant green lines against the ebony black of her suit. She continues staring, losing herself in the fluorescent bars crossing her clothing. Paige looks up, unable to take it anymore. The numb feeling spreads even farther throughout her, Paige reminds herself to ask to change into white circuitry later. The familiar green is too much right now, reminding her too much of her mistakes. Maybe someday she can go back to being who she was, but not for many cycles.

The female program looks up, Beck looks back, curious. He glances at Tron quickly who gives him a near imperceptible nod before pushing himself off the wall and walking down the well-lit hallway, casting a glance over his shoulder before walking away.

“Give him some time, he’s just getting used to the new changes.” Tron chuckles without humor. To other programs, they might’ve thought that Tron had forgiven her entirely, but Paige notices the little details. An assessing glance there, checking her stance ever so often, keeping a sharp eye on her hands. Tron doesn’t trust her, not yet. Like he said, it will take some getting used to. 

Meeting Tron had been a shock for Paige. Though she didn’t have any particular stance on Tron, the Occupation had taught her that he was a traitor. Many programs have different opinions about him. A war hero, a legendary soldier, a traitor, and mess-maker. None of the rumors prepared Paige for what she found. The program unsettled Paige, most likely because he was all of the rumors, and then none of them as well. He was smart, adaptable, impossible to shake. It was unsettling how he could shift his emotions to be exactly what the situation needed them to be, but never lost his sense of power and commanding of respect. There was also a protective part of him, someone who wanted the best for the Grid, and the programs who lived in it.

The Occupation inside of Paige, the warrior that was built up in her, admired Tron but also feared him. The rest of her was glad for his kinder side, the side that allowed her to live.

“I need to take care of some business,” Tron says, jerking Paige out of her thoughts, “you are welcome to stay in this room or to the room I showed you earlier. Don't wander where you’re not supposed to.” The program addresses Paige curtly. At the time there was something vaguely comforting about being ordered around, not having to wonder what to do. It was a familiar aspect of life and it made her feel less out of place. 

Once Tron leaves, Paige feels free to move, no longer held at attention by his stern gaze. The medic stands shakily, placing more weight on her strong leg and shuffling to her room. She scowls, realizing she’d forgotten to ask about her circuitry. Paige shakes herself roughly, scowling. Hopefully the ambivalent, numb version of her would be gone soon.

The room was very simple, making it clear that Tron never expected visitors. Some of Tron’s rooms were well-equipped, namely the training rooms. In the very short tour that Tron had given her, he’d shown her the impressive technology simulations that the training rooms had. 

A shaky sigh emits from Paige as she settles down in a chair, tapping her fingers against the surface. Paige closes her eyes, focusing on the feeling to distract herself. She stays silent for a long time, thinking. A thought frees her from the trance with a snap, she barely remembers what her voice is like. 

Paige bites her lip, frowning. The last time she talked was with Tron, and even then she hadn’t said much. The sound of her voice was buried deep in her memories, almost lost. Though the train of thought had frightened her, Paige refuses to try out her voice. The fear of speaking and having her voice sound weak, unsure, or scared would unbalance her more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you have any constructive criticism or feedback please share ~~Endangered


	3. Excuses

Beck wanders around aimlessly, wrestling with his thoughts. He feels a twinge of regret, remembering he can’t consult his friends on this. Beck’s frown deepens, remembering his friends. Beck had hidden his identity as the Renegade from his friends, it was the right thing to do, but it wasn’t easy. 

His thoughts float around for a while more before settling on Paige, again. Her defeated air was so unlike her, that Beck was ninety-nine percent sure she was being mind-controlled. Everytime Beck had interacted with the program, she had a warrior facade that seemed impenetrable. His mind skipped again, it was strange seeing Paige in green, medic colors. Beck had never seen her without her Occupation colors.

Tron had thought they could be friends, Beck had been friends with her too. “But that was when she only knew Beck the Mechanic.” He mutters, staring at the wall. Another part of his code kept arguing, they could still be friends, she could be on his side now. 

Beck goes back, acknowledging the counter argument. She has been on the opposite side for a long time, she could be plotting against him and Tron this very second. Beck inwardly groans as his thoughts spiral back to the other reasoning. She’s free from the Occupation now, we could carry on the revolution together, she’s on my side now. 

Beck shakes his head, annoyed at the argument staged in his own thoughts. It didn’t go anywhere, there was nothing he could do about his emotions for the time-being. 

  
  


Beck doesn’t come back to the hideout for the next couple of days. The young mechanic toils away in the garage fixing machines, thinking, and tactfully avoiding his friends. Their prying questions and concerned gazes put Beck on edge lately. 

Beck messes with a broken lightcycle, pretending to concentrate heavily on the task. In truth, the problem with the cycle is an easy fix, but reluctance at being cornered by Zed and Mara kept him endlessly tinkering with the vehicle. Eventually, Beck finishes the task, standing up and stretching his limbs. Zed and Mara almost immediately jog over, as if they’d been watching to see when Beck finished. 

“Hey, want to go walk around?” Mara asks cheerfully, slowly trying to lure Beck into hanging out. Beck winces, already planning what to say.

Zed frowns, guessing what Beck was going to say. “You’re going to say no again.” He frowns, crossing his arms. “What’s going on with you man? You never go anywhere with us anymore, you just...disappear.” Beck sighs, running a hand over his face. Arguing with his friends was the last thing that he wanted to do, well, maybe not the  _ last  _ but close to it.

“Zed!” Mara scolds, swatting him lightly. Those two had very different approaches to including Beck. Mara was more subtle, trying to coax him into small activities. On the other hand, Zed asked probing questions, trying to pry the truth from Beck. 

“What?” Zed exclaims, looking at Mara before facing Beck again. “You almost never talk to us anymore and you don’t hang out with us. Ever.” Zed looks at Beck suspiciously, trying to gauge his reaction. In turn Beck hides his emotions well, pulling on a blank expression.

“I’m sorry guys, after all that’s going on, I’ve just been out of it.” Beck lays out his weak excuse and realizes it that it’s not going to cut it. “And Bodi, after he died I've just needed some alone time.” The excuse is a weak one, and one that he has used much too often. Mara and Zed look at each other, sharing a frown. Mara turns back to Beck, a look of sympathy on her face.

“I understand Beck, but we’ve all been having a rough time. I think you’ll feel better if you talked with us about it.” Mara pleads, clasping her hands together. Zed reinforces her statement, nodding firmly. 

“Also, if something’s going on, you should tell us.” Zed adds pointedly. Beck grins wryly, scratching the back of his neck. How would Zed and Mara react to anything that Beck could tell them? Shocked, angry, concerned, excited- the list stretched on and on. 

“Nothing’s wrong, I'm fine.” Beck turns away from his friends and starts walking away, hoping that they wouldn’t press the issue. Of course, Mara follows.

“Hey,” She walks next to him, following him out of the garage. Beck looks back, seeing Zed throw up his hands in frustration and stalk off. 

“Hey.” Beck replies absentmindedly, wishing for peace and quiet to sort out his thoughts.

“I don’t know what’s going on, and you can hide it if you want, but we’re your friends. We’ll be here for you.” Mara presses the issue, leading Beck to a secluded corner. “So, do you want to say something?”

Beck shrugs in a way he hopes is nonchalant, faking an easy-going grin. “I’m fine, you don’t have to keep worrying over me. Nothing special is going on.” The lie makes Beck cringe but he sticks to it, continuing the forced smile.

Mara frowns, brow furrowing. “You should hang out with us then. It will be fun, please?”

Beck sighs, “Sure,” the relief shows plainly on Mara’s face, her concern washing away.


	4. Training Mishap

Beck takes extensive care to make sure he isn't seen leaving for Tron’s base. Paige following him to the hideout, and now Zed’s curiosity, reminded Beck of the importance of secrecy. Beck agonizes over the prospect of seeing Paige again. Before he’d been mad and disoriented, but thinking back on the situation, a sense of embarrassment at his actions permeates his thoughts.

His lightcycle’s noise fades to a quiet thrum as he slows to a stop, deactivating the vehicle. Nervousness sharpens Beck’s senses as he walks through the hideout, finding Tron in the main room. 

“Beck,” Torn greets, nodding politely, “it’s been a while.” The casual jab at Beck puts him on edge. 

“Sorry, I had a lot to think about.” Beck shoots back defensively, trying to wrestle away his annoyance. Tron nods tersely, typing something on a screen.

“What’s the plan for today?” Beck asks excitedly, trying to push himself back into a positive attitude. Tron finishes typing something up before turning to face Beck. 

“Training,” Beck stifles a groan, “you’ve been neglecting your duties lately, and it’s been a while since you brushed up on your skills.” Tron adds sternly at Beck’s reluctance. Training and an annoyed mentor, the immediate future looked grim. Beck follows Tron into the training room without further complaint, not wanting to anger him farther. 

Tron drills Beck for a while, pushing the Renegade more and more. Tron tells Beck to move faster, hit harder, think smarter. Beck’s head hurts and his limbs are sluggish in accordance with his bad mood. This seems to aggravate Tron, causing him to stop the training. 

“Let’s take a break.” The older program says curtly, walking back into the main room. Beck looks around without realizing, trying to find Paige. Beck hadn’t seen her the entire time he’d been back. The two programs sit down, Tron offering Beck a drink before talking.

“I don’t know what has gotten into you, but you’re falling behind in your training.” Tron says, crossing his arms. 

Beck’s annoyance flares, Tron knows exactly why he has been off lately. The fact that the older program wants Beck to say it aggravates him. Tron waits, expecting an answer.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because Paige is here now.” Beck starts and then continues, “Maybe it's because my friends are getting mad at me, or I could be tired.” Beck growls, looking away from Tron. 

The older program sighs, “You need to learn how to control yourself Renegade.” Beck doesn’t say anything, glaring at the floor. Tron stands up and walks away, leaving Beck to rest. Once Tron leaves, Beck sighs, posture slouching slightly. All the pressure on him seems to increase, pushing down on his back. He was failing the one thing he was investing everything in. Beck rests his elbows on his knees, looking at the ground.

Of course Paige decides to walk into the room. Her steps falter slightly when she sees Beck, the pause is almost unnoticeable. He looks up, steeling himself for a second before looking at Paige. She’s seemed to have regained some of her previous confidence, her shoulders tilted back, her chin raised. 

The two programs stare at each other for a while in silence, neither of them wanting to talk first. The quiet seems to stretch for cycles, several times one of the two would look like they're about to say something before stopping themselves. 

“You didn’t have to rejoin the Occupation after they arrested and tried to kill you.” Beck blurts suddenly, some of his frustration carrying into his tone. Beck winces, wondering if those were the right words. Another part of Beck sparks with anger, his built up irritation rising to the surface.

“What did you want me to do? The Occupation was all I had.” She snaps back, glaring at the floor. Definitely not the right words. The angry part of him flares, Beck shoots a glare at Paige.

Paige glares back, she knows that what she did was wrong, she didn’t need a reminder. She straightens her posture, trying to cover up some of her guilt. Paige crosses her arms, tapping her lightsuit. His white, Renegade one is painfully different from hers which is the normal ebony black color. It reminds her how different their roles are, how different they always were. It makes their previous, short friendship seem even more childish. 

“You could’ve run away, you could’ve come with me, you could've done something.” Beck points out, scowling. Paige’s glare hardens. Her life had been filled with the Occupation’s influence ever since her friends, her fellow medics had been massacred. It was easy for Beck to say, his life hadn’t been filled with as much grief. Then he got taken in by a legend of the grid, trained to save programs. Paige was practically mentored to be hated by everyone except her superiors. She was Occupation.

“I didn’t know the truth back then.” Paige says in a clipped tone. She hadn’t known so many things, and that had cost her everything. Beck crosses his arms, unconsciously mimicking Paige’s movements.

“It’s not hard to see that they were doing evil things.” Beck shoots back stubbornly. Paige cringes. Yes, the Occupation had done terrible things, but they had kept order. Technically, they kept the citizens of Argon safe. Paige let that topic drop, shaken enough by how much the Occupation still had sway over her life and opinions.

The heavy silence falls back into place between the two programs. They stare at each other for seconds longer before Paige turns sharply on her heels, stalking back to her room.


	5. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s been a while but it’s back! Haha -Sorry if the tenses are whack ;)

Tesler stares out of the large window of his ship, watching the small city of Argon with little interest. The frown which is permanently etched onto his face deepens in disgust. Everytime he felt like he was on the brink of success, something threw a gridbug into his plans.

The hunt for Lieutenant Paige had proved a waste of time and resources. There have been no sightings of her since she ran away, the most likely scenario was that she was wandering around the wastelands dying or dead. Normally Tesler wouldn’t spend so much effort hunting a program, but the closeness of the betrayal caused Tesler embarrassment.Footsteps alert Tesler to Lieutenant Pavel’s arrival.

The program stops a couple feet behind Tesler, “There are no updates on Paige’s location, no one has found her...yet.” Pavel says smoothly, walking to Tesler’s side. 

Tesler growls, whirling away from the cityscape and pacing the room. “No sightings? No updates? No progress,” his hands glow, feeding off his anger, “we need to find that traitor and derez her. I won’t stand for revolution in my city.” Pavel tilts his head contemplatively, his eyes narrowing. 

“If you gave me an elite team of programs, we could search the wastelands a lot faster.” The lieutenant asks slyly. “Her leg is injured, her lightcycle was damaged in the escape. She can’t have gone far.” Pavel folds his arms, trying to look confident and powerful.

Tesler’s brow furrows, thinking Pavel’s proposition over. “Fine, you can have your programs. Find her.” Tesler dismisses Pavel. Despite his gruff attitude towards the lieutenant, Pavel’s idea had pleased him. He would find Paige and bring her to face justice. 

Time at Tron’s hideout passed slowly. Beck saw very little of Paige after their encounter, and everytime they did see each other, they were polite but dismissive. Tron walked into the training room, Beck patiently waiting for him. 

“Beck, good to see you here early. Today you’ll train with Paige as well.” Tron says abruptly. That news stunned Beck, was she in any condition to fight? Also why would Tron have them start training with each other if their actions towards each other were still hesitant and slightly hostile? Beck stays silent, processing the information and trying to decipher Tron’s motive. A hint of worry enters the younger program’s mind, realizing that now would be a perfect opportunity if Paige wanted to derez him.

Paige walks into the room shortly after, arms crossed. She seemed fairly nervous and standoffish, probably wishing she hadn’t been dragged into this. She nods politely to Tron, glancing at Beck before turning her attention back to the older program. Beck starts in surprise, her suit has changed again. Her green-lighted suit was illuminated by white lines now, something that tugged at Beck’s curiosity. 

“We’ll start with some light sparring, for a warm up and so I can assess your technique.” Tron says, getting straight to the point. Tron walks farther away, turning to watch the two programs. Beck felt strangely uncomfortable dropping into a fighting stance. He’d felt a small increment of that guilt when he fought Paige before, but not at this larger scale. She also shows a slightly reluctance to fight Beck, her fighting posture more relaxed then normal, her face less serious. Not that Beck ever studied her that closely.

The two programs circled each other for a while, picking out weaknesses and disturbances in patterns. Paige strikes first, disk drawn and aimed at Beck’s neck. He fluidly dodges, and without a counter strike, the endless circling continues. 

Beck avoids locking gazes with Paige, as does she. When Paige whispers, Beck almost misses it completely.

“Why did you go on that date with me if you knew I was trying to kill you?” The unanswerable question. Thankfully Tron doesn’t hear the question, or if he does he doesn’t comment on it. Beck frowns, wondering how he could possibly answer this. The two weave in a circle in silence for a bit more, throwing half-hearted jabs and attacks at each other. 

“I don’t know, I don’t feel like that’s important.” Beck mumbles back, unsure of what else to say. The response seems to aggravate Paige, it avoided directly answering her question. Beck’s word choice, usually, reflected his fighting style. Dipping out of difficult topics and situations then pretending like they didn’t matter.

“And why doesn’t it matter anymore?” Paige whispers, annoyed. 

Beck shrugs, dodging a combo Paige throws at him. Beck gives a lazy counter strike that Paige blocks, too focused on coming up with another dismissive answer. “Answer the question this time, Renegade.” She says bitterly, voice raising slightly.

Beck glares at her, “because the past is the past. And right now I’m not sure if you’re here because you want a second chance or if you’re still just trying to derez one of us.” Paige recoils slightly at this, scowling. 

Did he really not trust her yet at all? He’d tried to be friends with her, and now she was one of the only program who shared his secret of the Renegade. Instead of being happy or at least uncaring about it, he was wary and suspicious of her. The motivation behind Beck’s sudden reaction towards all of this threw her off. Was Beck angry at her life choices? Paige admits they were terrible, but like he said, the past is the past. Jealousy that Tron was now training more than just him could be a cause, though knowing anything about Beck that seemed unlikely. Maybe, she never really knew Beck at all, just a fake, nice version of him that was put on for show.

“Programs,” Tron exclaims, striding over to the two, by his aggravated expression Tron was either annoyed at their lack of training or he overheard their argument, possibly both. “We have training to get to. Also I would expect that you two to stop squabbling and put your pasts behind yourselves. Now get working, we’ve wasted plenty of time.” The older program walks away, resuming his post.

Beck and Paige turn towards each other again, sinking into more alert stances. Paige was fairly skilled, but Beck had been training with Tron for cycles now and had pulled ahead of her. So when Tron called for the sparring match, Paige had already prepared herself for defeat.

Beck swings first, Paige dodging his training disk by centimeters then countering with a blow to Beck’s side. Seeing the disk out of the corner of his eye, Beck leaps to the side, safely out of Paige’s range before throwing his disk. It grazes Paige’s arm and she lets out a hiss of annoyance, her arm flashing quickly out of range so that Beck could not strike it again. 

Tron makes no verbal comment, but seems to make a mental note of their progression, taking in every move that the two programs make. The presence of Tron fills Paige and Beck full of nervousness in addition to the want to do better than usual. 

Paige’s leg flares with pain, her injury still grating after several days of recovery. She winces, faltering. Paige forcefully pulls herself together, recovering and taking advantage of Beck’s hesitance to attack a wounded program. She feigns right before going lefty and striking Beck across his hip. 

The two exchange blows for a while, though they seem quite equally matched, Beck usually has a consistent, but small, upper hand. The Renegade senses the pattern in their movements, the robotic attacks that leave no opportunity to gain a large advantage. Beck decides to mix up the pattern, do something different to catch Paige off guard. He darts his leg out, tripping her, a strange urge inside of him compels him to catch her arm and break her fall, struggling to ignore it. 

Shaking himself out of his daze, he raises his disk to mimic the beginning of a final blow however Paige jumps to her feet, and Beck’s disk catches her shoulder instead. The dull sound of metal hitting a program thuds, the sound filling the two combatants ears. 

Tron sees Paige recoil sharply, a hand flinching reflexively to her shoulder before standing up quickly. The two programs keep fighting, Paige noticeably more wary and tired after the takedown. Paige stumbles back, recoiling from an attack. While she starts to regain her footing, Beck sweeps Paige’s legs from underneath her. A fleeting frown flashes across Tron’s lips before disappearing quickly. Paige lashes her disk upwards while she falls, nicking Beck’s lower jaw. Anger flares in Beck’s face, knowing how much that close call almost cost him. Beck lowers his disk to hover above Paige’s face, breathing heavily. 

“Good job, though you two both made quite some errors. Since Paige is still recovering, you two will train separately for the time being.” Tron says vaguely, promptly walking out of the room, leaving the two programs alone again. Beck couldn’t help but feel like he was being tested, and he wondered if Paige felt the same way. Beck knows that he was sloppy in his fighting, letting emotions control his actions. 

The silence gets to Paige first and she rushes out of the room, trying not to limp. The program stops inside her room, sitting on the floor and resting her back against the wall. Why didn’t Beck trust her? Well, the answer to the question wasn’t the difficult part, the solution was. She didn’t know how to fix any of it and it drove her insane. 

Tron walked over to Paige’s room, stopping at the doorway. “I noticed your leg was bothering you during the fight.” It was a statement, but Tron’s words had the hidden meaning, asking if Paige was feeling okay. 

Instead of replying, an unexpected thing bursts out of Paige’s mouth, “Will Beck ever trust me?” Tron looks momentarily stunned before his face schools itself into a thoughtful expression. 

“It will take some time for Beck to trust you, he’s not used to seeing you on our side. It surprised him.” Tron explains carefully, genuinely caring about the young program.

“So he still thinks of me like the enemy.” Paige states dully, glaring at the floor.

“The enemy, not a bad person. Have hope, you two won’t always be against each other, you need to put a little trust in him before demanding his.” Paige makes some noise that sounds vaguely like, “whatever”. A rare smile cracks Tron’s face, “You aren’t a bad program, Paige. You never were, we all have things we regret.” He says slowly, looking at Paige. The younger program looked thoughtful, biting her lip. 

Paige could trace something that sounded almost like guilt in his voice. What did this legendary program regret? “Even you?” She asks bitterly, not angry towards Tron, but more towards herself. Anger for not noticing Tesler’s deception, for hurting all those innocent programs. 

“Yes. Even me, I wasn’t able to stop CLU.” A note of grief enters his voice, leaving it heavy and tired. It sounds like he wants to tromp the topic, but Paige wasn’t finished getting answers yet.

“Where were you? If CLU didn’t kill you, why didn't you intervene with his plans earlier?” Paige asks, trailing off when she sees Tron’s pained expression.

“You will learn things when they need to be taught.” Tron states, cutting off the conversation. Tron pauses for a second. “Rest yourself, once you’re feeling better we can train again.” His tone is lighter now, less haunted. Tron leaves the room, face darkening in thought leaving Paige to think about the curious things that the warrior program had said.


	6. A Mild Problem

Beck climbs onto his lightbike, speeding away in a blur. Dark bluish-grey mountains smudge into a bar of solid color, his thoughts whirl around his brain focusing on a topic before quickly speeding to the next. 

He wanted to trust Paige, but another part of his code argued against him. What if she attacked Tron? What if she attacked him? But she could be trusted, couldn’t she? Beck continues riding his bike, reflexively driving the vehicle. 

He concentrates so hard on his thoughts that he doesn’t see the boulder in front of him until he runs into it. Flying off his lightbike, time seems to move a thousand cycles slower. Voxels spin everywhere. Confusion clouds around everything. 

His brain finally catches up to his senses when a sharp spire of rock pierces through his shoulder. Agony lances through him, mind screaming in fear. The pain rips through his code, Beck can’t think of anything except for the feeling of rock sawing on his voxels and piercing other areas of his body. When his body hits the ground, the thud reverberates inside Beck’s skull. His lightcycle crashes mere feet from Beck’s face, voxels spilling out of several cracks before transforming back into a baton.

The shard of rock pierced right through his armor, sticking out the other side of his shoulder. Pixels of white-blue code fall away from the wound, making muffled  _ plink _ -ing sounds as they hit the ground. His head spins and an encroaching concussion doubles the pain and pounds through his skull. Other razor-sharp debris manage to embed themselves into Beck. They cause sharp splinters of pain, rendering nearly none of Beck untouched.

He tries to stand up, falling down due to intense pain in his leg. It felt as if the code was grinding against each other, it was definitely broken. Beck lurches forwards, fumbling for the baton of his lightbike. The cold baton presses against Beck’s hand which grips the stick like a vise. He tries to stand again, stumbling before regaining unsure footing. The world tilts and swoops underneath him and Beck lurches this way and that, trying to force back the headache.

Breathing heavily, Beck glances over his shoulder and quickly looks away. Panic hits him. A jagged piece of rock a little bigger than a lightcycle baton has stuck itself through his shoulder. He steels himself and looks again, pushing back nausea. Voxels well around the wound and crumble away, his suit is torn, jagged ends of the material clinging to the rock. Even if Beck had the stability or the nerve to remove the blade of rock, removing it might cause too much damage.

The Renegade tries to move his injured arm, but the flare of pain that follows causes his head to spin, the woozy sensation almost sends Beck to his knees. A brilliant white flash of pain starts spreading across his vision. 

“Need...get back…” Beck stumbles, he activates his lightbike with shaking hands. Beck half mounts half falls onto his cycle. His vision swims as the vehicle starts eating up the terrain beneath him. Black edges in at the corner of his vision, it is getting harder to think. Seeing the headquarters far away, his thoughts become thick and slow. If he could keep it together for just a little longer…

Everything goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea what to name this chapter so I went for a mildly sarcastic one lol. Hope you enjoyed~!


	7. Found

Though the Grid’s sky stayed a consistent, flawless ebony black, Tron’s inner clock knew that Beck was late. Very late. “I told him to be back here early yesterday.” He grumbles to no one in particular. The fact that Beck hadn’t arrived yet worried Tron, but the fact that Beck had other duties curbed some of his concern. Perhaps Able had just deemed it necessary to hold Beck in to make up for all his skipped shifts. Still, something was off.

Paige walks into the room, arms crossed. “Is Beck not here?” Paige asks, though she tries her best to sound nonchalant, Tron picks up the slight concern in her tone. She looks down at her suit, something she did frequent now. All of the different lightsuit colors had her confused. She had been orange for cycles, defined by it. She had been made green, she used to be green. Now her illuminated bars of light were the bluish-white. The death of her friends and all of the programs in the hospital had shaken her very existence and led her down a dark road. Somehow Paige felt that if she ignored her past life, it would go away. So she did.

Green, orange, white. Spinning around and around in her head until she wanted to get rid of the lights entirely. She smiles at the thought, amused. Lightsuits without light, she wouldn’t mind it. 

“I’m going to go on a short lightcycle ride.” She excuses herself, sensing that Tron didn’t want to be bothered. It was also a test, finally a test in which she wasn’t the subject. Would Tron trust her enough to let her leave? The older program doesn’t say anything as she hesitantly edges out of the room, feeling strangely guilty. She would never turn Tron in, not anymore.

It was surreal, knowing Tron. The legend she thought was dead, the legend almost everybody thought was dead. Also  _ Beck  _ was the Renegade. “And he doesn’t like you so that’s wonderful.” Paige mutters to herself, rolling her eyes. 

Paige drives her lightbike through the wasteland, sighing. It was that she didn’t like the wasteland, but she didn't. It was ugly, dark, and dangerous. The streets of Argon and other cities were much more comfortable to explore, but this would have to do because there was nowhere else to go.

A frown fixes itself on Paige’s face, “ _ Fine time to feel self-pity.”  _ She thinks bitterly, scowling through her suit’s visor. She slows down her bike, far enough from Tron’s base to not feel the squeezing feeling of guilt. It almost choked her every time she walked the halls of Tron’s base, remembering every wrong choice she made. Paige constantly felt like she had to be the very best, try her hardest. It was difficult proving herself to Beck, to make up for everything for Tron. She would never be good enough for the Renegade of the Champion of the Grid.

Paige deactivates her lightcycle, watching it fold into a black stick. The sand-like pixels that make up the ground shift slightly when she sits down. She runs her hand through the material, trying to ignore the frustration and hopelessness accumulating inside of her. Her nerves tingle, filled with agitation and energy. She wishes Beck was here, to slap him or to talk to him. 

A flicker of light sparks in her peripheral vision, snagging her attention. Paige reactively reaches for her disk, ready for a fight. Her senses catch up to her reflexes mere moments after. White light, not the Occupation. The mess of light was a little distance away, far enough that Paige can’t see what the light source was from. Had it been there before? She hadn't noticed it previously. Curiosity overrules caution as Paige stands up quickly, reactivating her lightbike and riding towards the light.

The lightcycle thrums at a speed that matches Paige’s adrenaline. The closer Paige gets, the clearer the image becomes. It looks like a….lightcycle. Overturned and damaged, but something else is lying next to the bike. “Bless the Grid…” Paige whispers in horror, the pieces fitting together in her mind. “That’s a program.”

The medic part of Paige’s code kicks in. She speeds up, screeching to a halt about ten feet away from the wreckage, leaping off her bike. Paige sprints towards the still figure, it couldn’t be dead, but the pixels of code were falling slowly onto the ground. The program would be derezzed soon.

There was something vaguely familiar about the figure, it tugged at Paige’s mind as she made her way closer to the prone figure. The soft ground caved under her feet, making it harder to run. Paige almost slides to a stop next to the program, kneeling next to...him, it was a he. 

Paige reaches for the program’s helmet, taking it off. The panic that flares through Paige’s skull almost makes her scream.

It’s Beck.


	8. Fixing the Renegade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s been forever! I honestly just didn’t want to edit so I kind of gave up on that so sorry about grammar whatnot. Here you go though!

Tron hasn’t relaxed since Beck’s supposed time of arrival passed. He stays still, not betraying his nervousness by drumming his fingers or pacing around the room. He glances out a large window displaying a large expanse of empty grid. Tall, jagged mountains protrude from the ground, clawing at the dark sky. With Paige and Beck gone, the place seems strangely empty. Tron’s gotten used to the two younger programs being around.

The sound of a lightcycle awakens Tron from his stupor. It was either Beck of Paige, most likely Paige but hopefully Beck. His absence felt ominous whereas Paige most likely wouldn’t have gotten herself into trouble. Standing near the entryway, Tron can see Paige's lightbike approaching. More concern fills his chest, leaving a tight feeling. As Paige nears, Tron sees a second figure riding on the bike behind her, slouched on Paige’s back. A mixture of adrenaline and panic sharpens his senses, being quite sure the second program is Beck. Paige wouldn’t bring a stranger into the base, being a medic program or not it wasn’t like her to take unnecessary risks.

Tron runs over to the oncoming lightcycle. To avoid colliding with Tron, Paige skids to a stop, supporting Beck’s body before deactivating her lightbike. Unconscious, Beck is very heavy, and she dips underneath his weight. She hobbles over to Tron, a scared yet calm look on her face.

“He’s injured, I don’t know what happened but I would guess a lightcycle crash. I found him like this. He needs medical attention.” Her sentences are short and clipped but sure. She struggles to keep Beck upright, his body’s shifting weight throwing her off. Paige tries shouldering her way past Tron but he stops her with a hand.

“Paige, let me help you.” He says softly, keeping himself calm. She reluctantly nods, too used to working independently and not relying on others. The combined panic of both programs intertwine, and for a moment they understand each other. An unspoken agreement passes between them. Whatever the cost, Beck must stay alive.

The two programs hurry into Tron’s makeshift medical room. They lie Beck on the bed, careful not to jostle him or touch his wound, which is glowing a harsh whitish blue and spilling voxels across the floor. 

“Paige, tell me all you know about the incident.” He asks tersely. His protectiveness over Beck overrules angering Paige as a note of suspicion enters his voice.

“I had nothing to do with this,” Paige exclaims, voice tight, “I found him lying on the ground when I went out. He was injured a while before I even left the base.” Her voice softens, busying herself by taking note of all of Beck’s injuries. “Like I said, I suspect a crash, his bike is damaged as well.” Paige hands Tron Beck’s baton, her eyes not leaving Beck’s wound. Tron nods slowly, seeing Beck in this state shook the older program, there was no doubt about that. The fragility of Beck’s life suddenly felt painfully clear to him, any second Beck could be derezzed. 

“I know, sorry. You are a medic, you know what to do.” Tron leaves the room without another word or explanation, his sudden abruptness confusing Paige and leaving her in the silence of the room.

It surprised her how much the older program trusted her decisions. Paige was used to programs such as Pavel and Tesler second guessing her ideas, holding her back as if she was striving to reach a goal that was impossible. Here she felt wanted, necessary at times. 

Paige abruptly switches her attention back to Beck, who is slowly dying. She got to work immediately, dressing his wounds, fixing his code, and cleaning voxels scattered around the floor.

Hours pass and Paige’s eyes begin to flutter shut. She was in desperate need of energy, working for hours had taken a toll on her. She had made progress, assessing the damage that had been done to Beck’s code. The main network of code in his left leg was cracked, disrupted. It would be extremely painful and slow to recover, but not permanent. The likelihood of Beck being able to train again soon was very low. 

She sinks into her thoughts, the heavy weight of grief and tiredness washing over her. What if she can’t heal Beck? His injuries are severe, but at this state moving him to a medical facility isn’t a viable option at that point. The journey alone might derez him, and then the possibility of the Occupation discovering everything about Beck, the Renegade, and Tron could certainly kill him. The horrible possibility of Beck being derezzed surrounds Paige like a cloud. The shallow dip and rise of Beck’s chest is the only sign that the program wasn’t dead. But any second he could derez, disintegrating into millions of tiny coded pixels. 

“I’m trying all I can, I won’t let you die. Just…stop dying.” She rambles hoarsely, blinking back tears. Beck’s eyes flicker momentarily, a small groan escapes his lips. That sends hope surging through Paige, he wasn’t about to derez, but his health could decline without warning. Paige would just have to stay awake, she’d force herself to. 

Tron enters the medical bay to see her tending tirelessly to Beck. Though her face is a mask of pure concentration, her slouched posture and hesitant movements show her fatigue. “Paige,” he announces his presence softly, sitting down next to Paige. She glances up, acknowledging Tron’s presence quietly. 

“Come rest for a bit, it won’t help Beck if you’re dead tired while working on him.” Tron says firmly, knowing it would be the only way to get the medic to rest. She doesn’t say anything but follows Tron when he slowly backs out of the room, casting a glance towards Beck as she leaves.

“We shouldn’t have left him alone,” Paige says suddenly, “he’s really unstable right now.” Her fingers work in the air, mimicking the motions she is doing to fix Beck’s code. Her body jerks backwards suddenly, drawn by the compulsion to continue working on Beck. “He might be asleep for a while, we might need to find a way to get him energy.” Paige is just rambling nervously now and she knows it.

“Calm down, we are no use to Beck if we panic. I don’t know how bad his injuries are, but we need to be ready for any scenario.” Tron noticeably avoids saying ‘if he derezzes’. 

“I can fix him, I know I can. I just need time.” She stresses casting a quick look in Beck’s direction. Tron sighs but doesn’t push the matter further. Instead, he walks away from Paige, coming back with a cup filled with energy.

“Here, replenish your strength.” Tron hands her the slender cup, holding it stubbornly in her direction until she grudgingly accepts it. 

“How about we talk about Beck if you’re worried so much about him anyways.” Tron manages an encouraging nod, watching Paige tentatively sip the drink. She stays silent and Tron quirks an eyebrow, coaxing Paige into talking would be harder than he thought. 

“You had a date with Beck once, didn’t you?” The older program asks such a direct question it shocks Paige out of her train of thought. 

“Something like that, it didn’t end well.” Paige responds carefully, giving Tron nothing to work with, no emotions to go off of.

Tron chuckles in agreement, “I heard about it. Seemed like quite the outing to me.” Paige doesn’t look up, downing the rest of her energy. “Paige,” Tron starts, pausing for a second to collect his thoughts. “What are your feelings for Beck?”

Paige stiffens, caught off guard by the direct question. He must have given up on trying to be subtle. “I don’t really know. It’s hard to tell because I don’t know what he thinks about me.” Both her hands cradle the empty cup, her fingers tapping on the sides.

“Occasionally I find myself frustrated at him, a lot of the time actually.” Paige begins again, brow furrowed. “Mostly because I think he’s mad about me because of who I was, and I can’t change any of that. I don’t dislike him though, he’s a good program, I like him.” Paige continues, trying to find the words for something she has not been able to explain to even herself. 

“Now that we are on the same side, I assumed that he would act differently than he is. Instead he’s acting cold and I understand why, but at the same time I don’t.” Her fingers clasp the cup tighter, “I do like him, but I try to ignore it to focus on being as useful to the uprising as possible. It’s just all complicated. I just hope he isn’t- that he doesn’t- I just hope he isn’t dead before I have a chance to tell him any of this.” She finishes quickly, letting out a breath, relieved she actually found a way to explain her mind accurately in words.

Tron nods, taking in Paige’s words. “Beck doesn’t hate you, he feels as conflicted as you do Paige. Just give him time.” 

Paige nods noncommittally, “I have to get back to work.” She turns back to the room, starting to walk away.

“Paige, one last word of advice. You should try talking to him when this is all over.” 

“If he doesn’t derez first.” Paige whispers quietly. It's a depressing thought, but as Tron said, she has to prepare for anything. Tron says nothing, nodding in agreement.


End file.
